Kromheim/Self Titled/2020 EP Review

  Kromheim  are  a  solo  project  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  viking,  folk  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2020  ep.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  ep  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  growls  and s creams  which  also  add  in  touch  of  black  metal.  The  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  Swedish  influences  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  elements  of  folk  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.  When  synths  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  more  of  a  symphonic  style  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  used  briefly,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  vocals  onto  the  recording.

  Kromheim  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  viking,  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Vikings  and  Medieval  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kromheim  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  viking,  folk,  melodic  death  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Prayer"  and  "Storm  Of  The  Gods".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56xxRBMscbk&feature=youtu.be

https://kromheim.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/kromheim/ 

Nocturn Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Séb : Hello and many thanks for asking. Vincent and I decided in 2009/2010 to create Nocturn with a bunch of old friends who had already
played together on several previous local metal bands .I was abroad a few years and came back at that time, and as all of us, with the objective to mix
all our influences on a melodic black/death basis and have some fun by playing a kind of duo/duel between the guitars
and the keyboards. We realized 2 EP, had a few line up changes like almost every bands, and we are now releasing our first album,
"Like a seed of Dust".

Vince : Nocturn is a melodic death/black project with various influences. Seb founded the band, then called me to renew our past collaboration in music.
We released a first EP in 2013, had a few live dates until 2015,until we had to face a big line-up change.
We took the time we needed to get the perfect members for Nocturn, and with the new team we entered in studio in summer 2018. The mixing and mastering were performed in summer 2019,
and after a while seeking for a good label, we signed with Sliptrick Records, that we thank for their trust in our project, in february 2020. The next album is in advanced process.

2.In September you have a new album coming out, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

Vince : We always wanted to play something dark, speed, but with no limits of in songwriting influences or orchestrations. Black and death metal are present in our music,
but also a backing of heavy/speed metal, thrash metal, classical music...
The keyboards orchestrations explore  various parts from choir melodies to teknical beats, we try to keep rich instrumentation's and harmonies between the instruments without becoming a mess.

Seb : The main style is mainly death metal, but we also love other styles and the fun for us was to add something else and different on every song, so you can sometimes find a reggae riff or
some little electro/techno moments. Anything that we liked and without fixing us any limits because it's not "trve"
or something else, just to have fun. A big patchwork.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?

Vince : Death, life, war, love, destruction, anger, drugs, hope, duality, fragility of existence... Some texts are allegories told like a story, some are thoughts, some may be personnal. 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nocturn'?

Vince : I like the night. The veil of darkness covering the land, predators hungry for flesh, creatures of evil hidden in the shadows or in our hearts...
Not about the Skyrim deadras !

Seb : We tried a few other names but this one was really the one we prefered.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented in the album cover?

Vince : It was created by Jean-Philippe Sonnet at Threadbare artwork. I was seeking for a drawing that represented beauty and fragility of life, decay and rebirth.
Our album is released for the fall, that perfectly suits with the concept.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Vince : Our best shows were in little and medium stages at Chambéry, at the Brin d'Zinc and at the APEJS. People were completely crazy, it was a killer public both times. Our performance was good, but we always can do better.

7.On the new album you also have a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions on the recording?

Vince : The first album guest is now part of the band, it was Sophie , singer and composer in her project 'From Hell with Love'. She performed all the clean female vocals of the album
and a part of dual voice with her harsh vocals upon 'The wraith in bloodied wings'. It worked so perfectly that she joined our crew definitely a few while after, and now I share
the microphone with her in dual voices.

Gilles Croset is a saxophonist that we met as the friend of a friend, who gently helped us with his instrument for a very special part in the song 'Under the Darkest Sea'.
We were glad to record a real saxo instead of the emulated sound on keyboards.

The other guests were a surprise for me too, because our two producers Rob and Arnaud who are also extremely talented singers in their own bands,
came behind the microphone to perform backing vocals, and they recorded killing material.

Rob Carson is the engineer who recorded us at his Carsonian Studio Solutions, and the singer of Xaon (they record their 3rd album lately). He came to perform with Léo and I for the gang vocals
on several songs : Pandaemonium, Liberhate and Odyssey. He was also a real support in some complexes studio situations and dilemmas, findind solutions to every production matter we faced.

Arnaud Ménard is the engineer who recorded all the bass guitars and vocal additionnal contents, and mixed our album with this incredible sound in his Sicarius Productions studio.
He is vocal teacher at 'Ecole La Sirène and also the singer of Alkemyst. He performed the vocal harmony with Sophie upon the song 'Infernale', and the melting of their crystal voices sounds incredibly good. 

8.The new album is coming out on 'Sliptrick Records', how did you get in contact with this label?

We contacted many labels but as a little band we had some propositions that was not always interesting, with A&R good reviews but no good deals in sight before Sliptrick Records proposition.
Carlo, their A&R, and the team took the time to really listen to our album before making us a proposition, and they were honests.
We took the time we needed to find a label, because autoproductions are complicated to promote and it's important for the future of Nocturn. The next album is under preparation and
everyone is hot to play the past and the next songs. 

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic black and death metal?

Some years ago, I started to invite people all over the world to like our music.
I was positively surprised by very good feedbacks, and we have people that liked our music almost everywhere : Europa, Russia, North and South America, Africa, India, Indonesia, Japan...
It's great !!

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Vince : We will continue to play a melodic and technical death/black metal, and Sophie will sing more harsh vocal parts.
The next album will be in the same vein that the wraith in blooded wings, liberhate... with still many types of passages and ambiences.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Vince : When I was young I studied classical piano in a music school during some years, that explain my neo-classical tastes sometimes.
I fell into distorded guitars when I discovered Scorpions, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Clapton, Aerosmith, AC/DC ...
I discovered something that could aggressive and beautiful at the same time and it surely defined my taste for metal music.
I still listen to old school heavy metal, thrash, death black metal. Bands like Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Angra, Sepultura, Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer,
Death, Cradle, Immortal, Dying foetus, Dimmu, Behemoth,Children of Bodom, Godkiller, Summoning, Dissection, The Faceless, Origin, SOAD, Dagoba, Rammstein, Guns'n Roses, Hendrix,
only a part of each's discography; also mostly classical, blues and rock influences, there are countless .
But during the songwriting processes I don't listen much music, to avoid parasitizing the creation and fully express myself.

Seb : About the influences, they are really a lot and really different too ! We could say from Chuck Schuldiner to Jean michel Jarre for example !

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Vince : Thanks again to our producers Arnaud and Rob, and to all the artists involved in this project. I hope you will enjoy this album.
Thanks to you and to A Different Shade Of Black Metalzine for your interest, and hails to your audience ! Cheers !

Seb : Thank you again for this interview and your interest in our music, we hope you will appreciate it. Cheers

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Juodvarnis/Nerimo Dienos/Dangus Productions/2020 CD Review

  Juodvarnis  are  a  band  from  Lithuania  that  plays  a  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  pagan,  black  and death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Nerimo  Dienos"  which  was  released  by  Dangus  Productions.

  Viking  war  battle  sounds  start  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical direction  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Atmospheric  sounding  keyboards  are  also a dded  into  some  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  thrash  style  bordering  on death  metal.

  Clean  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  in  some  parts  of  the  recording.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  music  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark,  black  and  pagan  metal  elements, sitar's  and  percussion's  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  the  album  closes  with  a  cover  A.M's  "Trys".  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Lithuanian  and  cover  Paganism  and  Nature  themes,.

  In  my  opinion  Juodvarnis  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of d ark,  black,  pagan  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Is  Amziu  Saknu"  "Tik  Dulkes"  and  "Sielos  Dugne".  8  out  of  10.

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The Reticent/The Oubliette/Heaven And Hell Records/2020 Full Length Review

  The  Reticent  are  a  band  from  North  Carolina  that  plays  a  very  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "The  Oubliette"  which  will be  released  in  September  by  Heaven  And  Hell  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts  start off  the  album  before  adding  in  some  clean  playing  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  feeling.  Clean  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  heavier  riffs  also  bring  in  more  of  a  prog  metal  style  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  all  of  the  musical instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic style  and  keyboards  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.

  Touches  of  jazz  and  psychedelic  music  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal.

  One  track  also  introduces  percussion  onto  the  recording  and  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  tribal  feeling.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  the  more  brutal  sections  of  the  tracks  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  saxophones  onto  the  album  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  operatic  female  vocals,  orchestra  and  symphonic  sounds  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  a  man's battle  with  Alzheimer's  Disease.

  In  my  opinion  The  Reticent  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive,  black,  doom  and    melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "His  Name  Is  Henry"  "The  Dream"  and  "Stage  7".  8  out  of  10.

https://metalinjection.net/video/the-reticent-unleashes-the-prog-metal-on-new-song-stage-2-the-captive



   

Calarook Interview

Ahoy! Thanks for your interest for an Interview. We responded as a band together. Calarook is
Philipp Wyssen: Vocals
Nico Wiget: Guitar
Lukas Mischler: Violin
Yves Locher: Drums
Flavio Pompeo: Bass
1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We are a Pirate Metal band from Winterthur in Switzerland. We started in 2014 and began to complete the lineup and write first Songs. We are all silly but still serious. Silly about the lyrics, serious about the songwriting itself. We are of the sort who want to make music, which we would listen ourselves, with a theme that we like. We love beer and party, but we know that we have to deliver good shows. We know when it is ok to party and when we have to be serious.

2.You got your first full length coming out in September, musically how does it differ from your previous ep?
All three songs of the EP are also on the full length. But we re-recorded them because we had more experience and the possibility to record it in a much higher quality. Our goal was to deliver a good product as possible for the audience. If you compare those songs from the EP with the new ones you can clearly hear the difference.

3. A lot of your lyrics cover pirate themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
Pirates were very free, did not allow themselves to be oppressed and wanted their lives to be independent of a king thousands of miles away. They lived their lives and did what they enjoyed. They loved rum, we love rum. So one more thing in common.

4.Originally the band was called  'Calico' what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Calarook'?
When they searched for our old name on the Internet, all the cats came up with pictures, some guns and some company in California. Someone gave us a good tip. Our band is too hard to find, we should change our name to something that stands out in the online search. So early in the band's history this is still unproblematic. To not deviate too much from the old name to our current one, we came up with the idea to call our band Calarook. The name is fictitious.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
Patrick Wittstock has done the artwork. He already made some other great Artworks. It was a good decision to work with him. The idea was to make it fit with the title track of the album: Surrender Or Die. Therefore the pirate ship which attacks a ship of the crown. They didn’t wanted to surrender, so they have to die. And we then plunder their ship.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
One of the best shows was clearly the one at the Ragnarök Festival in Germany. It was our first show at a festival. After we had a huge party on the stage, the party went on in the backstage with all the other great bands who played there.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We are looking forward to try to get in contact with some labels after the release of the album. Or yeah, maybe a label will contact us in advance. Who knows?

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of folk and death metal?
Until yet very good. Most people like the music very much. The comments to our first music video are all positive. So it seems we are on the right way.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
In addition to the three videos we want to present our album live. However, it is currently not so easy to plan shows because of the known reasons. A tour abroad is already in the agenda for 2021. But we hope for a soon normalization of the situation. So that everything is feasible again as usual.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Every one of us listens to different kinds of metal music and even punk or other related genres. This leads to the diversity in our songs and its own style. It’s difficult to say which bands had the most influence.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
All of us like to make party and get shitfaced with friends. Some of us have motorcycles or are studying at the moment. Outside of the metal world we are normal people like everyone else.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Stay healthy and support the entire event industry next year. This is the only way to keep the music alive. Because difficult years will surely come to the entire industry.

Listen to album track "Invisible Pineapples"

Skyless Aeons Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Skyless Aeons formed in 2014 in London, Ontario when I (Nathan Ferreira) and guitarist Nicholas Luck were 18 years old. I met him at a Cryptopsy show when a mutual friend introduced us, and immediately we clicked - as a metalhead, when you meet someone else who listens to shit like Adversarial and Antediluvian, it's like discovering your long-lost brother. I wanted to be in a metal band so bad, and this guy not only knew his shit, but was also incredible at guitar, AND he knew a drummer that he was practicing with - and that guy liked extreme metal too! I tagged along to their practice one time, screamed my face off not knowing what I was doing, and they liked it enough to keep me around. Shortly after we found our bassist and we haven't had a single lineup change since, which has allowed us to learn to feed off each other's strengths and create a cohesive, tight, and very unique sound that draws from every type of extreme metal you can imagine.

2. In October you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous ep?
"Drain the Sun" is much more of a complete piece with a beginning, middle and an end. Our last EP was more of a "get every good idea we have on recording" type of release, with songwriting that's more wandering and all over the place. It's good for what it is, but with the new album, we decided to focus more on the death, doom, and atmospheric elements. The songwriting process was much more laborious, with many sections being scrapped, re-written, or just taken out entirely if we felt they did not serve the songs well enough.

You can also expect a much more professional and polished album - Era of Famine was recorded live off the floor, in one or two takes, over the course of a single day. With our new album, we wanted to make sure everything was fine-tuned to perfection, so we recorded in multiple sessions layer by layer to a click, with the whole recording process taking months as opposed to hours.

3. This is also your first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
As I was saying above, it took a while to make sure everything was right! We focused on quality over speed, so although we had already had a couple of songs mapped out for Drain the Sun when Era of Famine was released, we didn't actually complete writing until about the end of 2018 and didn't hit the studio until summer of 2019. Simultaneously, we were also trying to play live as much as possible in order to build our reputation, so whenever we had a show coming up we'd be focusing more on rehearsing our set overwriting new material. That, and we all have day jobs, most of us play in other bands as well, and (very) occasionally, one of us manages to get laid...ya know, life and stuff.

Oh yeah and I think there was like a global pandemic or something? That definitely set back the release process a few months.

4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored with the music?
On metal-archives, our lyrical themes are listed as "space", "death", and "corruption". That's a good three-word summation.

Our new album actually has a bit of a concept going on with the lyrical themes, if you'll allow me to get a little pretentious. As a group, we're frustrated with how humans over-consume, over-indulge, blindly conform to baseless beliefs to justify it, and fail to recognize that this is exactly what causes us suffering, guilt, and our eventual demise. Each song on this album explains a different way that this happens. "Age of Regression" and "A Consciousness Decays" are about our obedience to ideology being our downfall, "Go Forth and Multiply" laments our relentless urge to breed, and "Dimensional Entrapment" explains how our limits as humans make our downward spiral inevitable. "Drain the Sun" is a metaphor - everyone has their own Sun. For some of us, it is pleasure, for others love, for some it is money, for others it could be power, but whatever it is, we will drain it until we die.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Skyless Aeons'?
I like to think it refers to the period of time before the earth existed - when there was nothing more but raw matter and void, and the idea of a "sky" could not even be fathomed. Our sound is both an audio representation of that time period, and also a warning of where we're headed if we don't change course and fail to see the error of our ways.

The actual origin of it is much less glamorous - we stole it from an obscure New York death metal band, Haagenti, who has a song titled "Skyless Aeon". Nick thought that it sounded cool, we didn't hate it as much as we did the other names that were going around, we added an "s" to "Aeon" to make it more our own thing, and there you have it.

6. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The cover was done by the talented Sam Nelson/Stigma Art, who has also done pieces for some of our favorite tech bands - First Fragment, Vale of Pnath, Virvum, and a bunch of others - so we were followers of his work already. While we were fleshing out the concept for our album, we came across this piece that visually described what I had in my head so perfectly - there's a beacon of light at the top, and the entire environment seems to be drawn towards it to the point where it starts to block out the light. The relentless pursuit of light creates an eternity of darkness. The album cover actually influenced the songs very greatly, since most of the album wasn't written until we bought the rights to the piece.

7. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Tough to name a personal favorite. Lots of local shows with good turnouts and killer bands. One of the more memorable ones was our most recent show with Killitorous back in January, which was hosted by a drag queen who interacted with the crowd throughout the night, got people into the sets and got freaky on stage with us while we played. That was definitely different.

Our live performance is tight, focused, and delivered with conviction, but as you might have gathered from the drag show I mentioned above, we don't mind letting loose and having a bit of fun with it - where else do you get to just go berserk without judgement?

8. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We looked (and are still looking really, if you run a label hmu) for a while, but despite a couple of promising responses, no one showed enough interest to get something going. We're kind of in a difficult spot, because labels usually have a very distinct vision and style that they go for, and we kind of mix a little bit of everything in. We don't really fit on a straight-up black metal label, we're not quite doom, we're not quite death metal...but we're also all of those things? Either way, we'd love to be on a label if possible, but these days it seems you have to establish yourself more independently first before labels will show interest. Hopefully, with this new album, we do just that!

9.On a worldwide level, how has the reaction been to your music by fans of underground metal?
Hard to say what the general consensus is, but it at least seems like most people like it! The overall reaction to our first EP was that it had some very promising ideas but was a little raw and amateurish, which is fair - with our new album, we're looking to tighten all of that up, and so far, the reaction to the new song has been really good. It seems like everyone has a different idea of what it sounds like - I've heard Gorguts, Deeds of Flesh, Rotting Christ, Anaal Nathrakh, Cradle of Filth, and all sorts of the stuff mentioned as comparisons by others...which is funny because I don't think any of those were direct influences. That's kind of the cool thing about music, everyone hears something a little bit different.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
We like to keep busy and have a lot of other projects - there's no such thing as too much metal!

 Earlier this year our guitarist Nick joined Aepoch, who are a fantastic progressive death metal band that just put out an EP, and he's working on new material with them as we speak. He also plays slam death metal in Existential Dissipation, and they're putting out a split with a huge band from Norway soon.

I've always been more of a black metal guy myself, and in order to scratch that itch I play in two other bands: one is Cryopathy, a DSBM band that takes heavy influence from stuff like Lifelover, Intig, Woods of Desolation and Apati, and we are actually just getting ready to enter the studio to record our first full-length this fall. I also play in Hell is Other People, a post-black metal band. Covid put a bit of a strain on our practice regimen because half the band is in Windsor and the other half is in London, but we've got new songs written that we're fleshing out as well.

Our bassist Stefan has been jamming with a prog-rock band for the past year or so-called Free the Kid - they were about to play live in April before all live music imploded before our very eyes, and they've got some stuff coming out soon. Don't know much else myself, but I heard a raw demo track one time and it was pretty neat, had some Protest the Hero/Scale the Summit kinda vibes.

Martin doesn't play in any other bands because we keep him chained up in the basement. As long as we feed him enough Cheese Nips and don't make the shackles on his ankles too tight, he doesn't complain about it too much.

11.Where do you see the band heading musically during the future?

Once live shows become a thing again, we'd like to get out on the road and play outside of our hometown to spread our sound as far as it'll go. We also have some songs written for a follow-up release already, and we've already agreed that we want to continue going down a heavier and more atmospheric path. It took a bit, but we've found our sound with this new release, so the sky's the limit.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays/
We all have different tastes in metal (though it would be fair to say we're all primarily metal fans). I tend to go more for black and death metal, Nick likes more modern brutal and tech death, our drummer is a huge Opeth fan and likes a lot of melodic death/doom like Dark Tranquillity and Swallow the Sun, and our bassist likes a lot of black, folk, doom and prog.

We're fans and consumers of metal as much as we are creators, and we're constantly buying new albums and sharing/trading them with each other during our practices. Some bands that released super cool albums recently: Aronious, Defeated Sanity, Wormhole, The Spirit, Ulcerate, Like Rats, The Great Old Ones, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Augury...that being said, like most fans of music, our playlists could consist of anything from Iron Maiden to Psyopus to John Coltrane to My Bloody Valentine. Influences can come anywhere and from anything.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for taking an interest in our ruminations on humanity's collective failures. Drain the Sun drops October 2nd. Check it out, buy a CD or a shirt, or at the very least write angry messages to us about how we suck. Your acknowledgment of our existence draws us away from the void, if only for a fleeting second. Support underground extreme metal!!!

Facebook.com/SkylessAeons

Nomvdic Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

James: Well since we released back in July I’ve been hard at work on press and promo for the album, to try and get the music in front of people. I’ve also been thinking hard on ideas to keep the band and album relevant since we can’t tour the record

2.A few months back you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

James: ‘Euphoria’ is definitely very different from our previous release “Horror” conceptually, so I think the biggest sound difference comes from the subject matter. So, Horror sounds like “horror” as a concept, and Euphoria sounds rather “euphoric”, haha.

3.The lyrics on the new recording are a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the story you have covered with this release?

James: From a very broad perspective, I guess I’m covering the general human experience of ups and downs, and how thoughtfulness and introspection can breed even deeper and darker experiences and feelings, as opposed to “ignorance is bliss”. Personally, the story in the album is sort of my justification for feeling like shit about certain things haha.

4.In the beginning you where known as 'As Crusaders Depart' then 'Nomadic' what was the cause of the name changes?

James: Haha, As Crusaders Depart is not this band. Two previous members of this band were in that band, but they’re not the same. Nomadic started in early 2016. We are still Nomadic but it’s branded with the V because there’s another artist called “Nomadic”. I still refer to it with the A though

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nomvdic'?

James: I didn’t name the band unfortunately, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me. I think the ‘V’ is dumb but we had already garnered some attention as “Nomadic” so a total name change was out of question, and we just started stylizing it with the V. I guess the cool thing about it is we’re undeniably the only thing that will show up when you search “NOMVDIC”

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork on the new album cover?

James: Yes! I love our symbol! The “-∀-“ thing. I guess that’s the one good thing to come out of the upside-down A. I really made it a point to not put our band name on the front cover of the album or any of the album merch. Euphoria isn’t about us as a band, it’s about the music, and I want that symbol to embody that. It’s very intentional. Also, aesthetically, I wanted Euphoria to be very very colorful to represent feelings and the human experience.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

James: Oh man. Our tour with The Faceless was phenomenal. The shows in Joliet IL, St. paul MN, and Kalamazoo MI really stand out. We headlined a festival that sold out back in 2018 and that’s one of the best shows I’ve ever played, so much fun. I just really enjoy playing shows. Our live performance is very active and very theatrical. We play to our album back track (we’re not cheating anything haha, I just mean all of the additional sounds are in the back track) so you still get the album experience, but you also get the added intensity of our high energy live show.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

James: I’m very proud of my work as an independent artist and releasing this album independently, and the releases performance given that it was independent inspires me even more to continue DIY. however I’m always down to work with people who share the same creative vision. I don’t think I could ever give that up. I’m so proud of this album and I love it so much.

9.The new album also got a huge score on the billboard charts in the first week, do you feel this is a very great accomplishment for an unsigned band?

James: Huge accomplishment. I’m so proud. So so proud. I love this album and love our fans. I could cry, it’s so cool.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

James: I definitely thought it would be more jarring. But we seem to have fans in all corners of metal. I think any elitist of any group would not enjoy it as it’s not specifically death metal or specifically black metal or specifically metalcore, etc etc, but it dabbles a little bit into every single thing. So I think people who have an open mind and appreciate music generally seem to enjoy it. I’m happy with that. I can’t wait for more people to hear it.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

James: great question! I love blast beats, and I love big choruses and the pitched yelling-Gojira style vocal that I do. So i think all of that will remain. Other than that, we will see where the music takes us. I’ll be writing and collaborating with other people moving forward - people much more talented than me - so we’ll see how it’ll turn out. I have some cool concepts for records moving forward. I’d like to work on and release music at a higher frequency than before though.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

James: Another awesome question. Euphoria was super influenced by Gojira, The Contortionist, Deafheaven, Sleep Token, Now, Now, The Faceless, Fit For an Autopsy, Spiritbox, and Meshuggah.

As far as metal goes, I’ve been listening to a lot of Gojira to prepare for the new album. I’ve also been listening to Spiritbox and Oathbreaker. Fantastic bands. Uh, I recently revisited the most recent Vale of Pnath, that’s super good, and discovered Numenorean recently and think they’re great. Oh, and I’ve been on an Artificial Brain kick. Outside of metal, I’ve been listening to a lot of Incubus, Jacob Collier, Gamby, Angel Du$t, and Heilung.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

James: I love traveling a lot. I’m actually visiting North Carolina right now while writing this. Hard to do during the pandemic, but renting a car is safer than flying. I work full time as a producer and mixing engineer, so I spend a lot of time working on audio. I also enjoy going for walks, eating great food, and spending time with my friends and cats.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me, this is really cool. Also I hope everyone checks out Euphoria! We have CDs and merch for sale at store.nomvdic.com.

Thanks again and I’ll talk to you later!

Website: https://nomvdic.com
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/34XRjMu
Facebook: https://facebook.com/NOMVDIC
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nomvdicofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nomvdic

Kosmogonia Interview

1. Hello everybody, we are Kosmogonia, we come from Greece and we play folk, melodic, death metal. Our name comes from the Greek word κοσμογονία (cosmogony= birth of the world). It is an ancient, pagan word that symbolizes the world’s creation and sacred harmony. Our music and lyrics are inspired by Greek and generally European mythology and history.

2.Recently you have released your first full length, musically how does it differ from your previous demos?
2. We started as a thrash, death metal band however, from 2017 we started playing folk metal. Our first album “Enthrone the gods” is the outcome of a three-year long journey which includes our first demos “Elysian fields” and “Triiris”.

3.A lot of your lyrics cover Greek Mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
3. As we mentioned before, our music is inspired by the ancient, pagan Europe. “Enthrone the gods” has an ancient Greek theme which is a mixture of Greek mythology and ancient Greek historic moments. Ancient Greece is the perfect way for us, since we are Greek, to start our journey through the ancient world and its numerous civilizations.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Kosmogonia'?
4. Kosmogonia which comes from the Greek word κοσμογονία (cosmogony) as we mentioned before, symbolizes the world’s birth and the power of renewal and these symbolisms are the key to our music. This word symbolizes our connection with the ancient world and its gods and goddesses through a “tool” and that tool for us is our instruments with which we give life to something new.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
5. The album’s artwork (made by Cosmas Hiolos) has many symbolisms. The young lady symbolizes the rebirth of the ancient spirit while the eagle that flies behind her is eternal Zeus which symbolizes the return of gods to Mount Olympus. The volcanic background symbolizes rebirth.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. There have been plenty of lives in which we have participated in. We enjoyed all of them as much as our fans did and we believe that our presence on stage takes them on the journey that we do every time we play live.

7.The new album was released on 'Cronus Productions',can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
7. Cronus Productions is a freelance company founded by the members of the band and its goal is to help other metal bands come to the spotlight. It helped us majorly for our first album’s release.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of folk and extreme metal?
8. “Enthrone the gods” was a big success worldwide. We already have fans from many countries and we can’t wait to play live for them. The critiques around the world about the album are exquisite and we can’t thank everybody enough for their support!

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9. We hope that we continue to evolve as a band and as musicians and that is our goal. So far we thing that we’re going to that direction.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10. Great famous bands such as Eluveitie, Esiferum and lots of others are a big inspiration for us. We listen to folk metal and other subgenre of metal music as well as neofolk music from many different European countries. For us, ancient civilizations are magical and we think that music may be the only way to travel there.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11. We like sports, reading and watching series and movies but of course we all have different tastes.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. We hope that the corona virus pandemic ends in order for us to travel, meet our fans and play live for them. In conclusion, we would like to give our thanks to all of those who support us in every way possible as well as Dinos Lavrentakis from Woodstock Studios, Marinos Tokas and OGrego (Athanasios Karapanos) who worked hard for our album’s recording, symphonic orcestration, mixing and mastering respectively.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAJINgBopaU

Nocturn/Like A Seed Of Dust/Sliptrick Records/2020 CD Review

  Nocturn  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Like  A  Seed  Of  Dust"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  Clean  male  and  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Spoken  word  passages  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  songs  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  progressive  touch  at  times.

  all  of  the  musical instruments  also  have  a  very powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  tracks  as  well  as  a  later  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  saxophones.  The  production  sounds  very professional  while the lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nocturn  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Wraith  in  Bloodred  Wings"  "Liberhate"  "Wasted  Earth"  and  "Odyssey".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook | On Sliptrick

  

Eshtadur/From The Abyss/Blood Blast Distribution/2020 Full Length Review

  Columbia's  Eshtadur  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  melodic  and  blackened  style  of  death  metal  from  their  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "From  The  Abyss"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Blood  Blast  Distribution.

  A  very  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  vocals  are  mostly death  metal  growls  along  with  some  blackened  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow, mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  brings  in a   great  amount  of  Swedish  influences.  The  symphonic  elements  also  make  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  they  also  add  in  a  cover  of  Firehouse's  "All  She Wrote"  which  also  introduces  clean  vocals  into  the  music.

  On  this  recording  Eshtadur  adds  more  symphonic  elements  in  their  melodic  style of  blackened  death  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  despair  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Eshtadur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  blackened  death  metal,you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lowborn  Bastard"  "The  Fall"  "The  Oathbreaker"  and  "Disphased  Dimension".  8  out  of  10.

 https://www.facebook.com/EshtadurOfficial/    

Aeons Confer/Zero Elysium/2019 Full Length Review

  Aeons  Confer  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  industrial,  dark,  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  album  "Zero  Elysium".

  Sci-fi  and  cinematic  orientated  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  symphonic  musical  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  Clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Elements  of  industrial  and  dark  metal  can  also  be heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style,  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Aeons  Confer  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  industrial,  dark,  symphonic  black  and  death  metal  and mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  and  dystopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Aeons  Confer  are a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of  industrial,  dark, black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Impactors"  "Plasmoid"  "Nemesis"  and  "Pandemonium".8  out  of  10.

https://de-de.facebook.com/AeonsConfer
https://www.instagram.com/aeonsconfer
https://www.youtube.com/AeonsConferChannel

https://youtu.be/HaECHYqU1G4    

Protokult Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?



The recording took longer than usual, studio obligations, funding, other projects, and I think COVID actually benefitted us finally releasing it, however, all the bookings and potential dates for supporting it this year have gone out the window. We’ve been looking at new merch in the meantime, writing new material and everyone has some extra time to focus on their own projects at the moment.



2.You have a new album coming out in October, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?



I’d say it’s the most consistent. There’s an appropriate “breathing room” here and there but it’s a banger from start to end. The age-old formula works so we try to stay true to what makes metal great in the first place,

Heavy metal is alive and well. Perhaps it’s meant to thrive in a more underground subculture and that’s part of what makes it rewarding. Specifically, musically, it’s a rush meant to be enjoyed either as a whole journey or at any entry point, we’ve ensured that.



We felt the tracks flowed really well and gelled with each other, every time we play them, we still get that rush and wanted to capture that energy and voyage on record. We approached this record with a bit more maturity and consistency so the result is heavier, faster, darker. Of course there are still some party-themed, fun moments but we never wanted to be a one-trick pony.



With Transcending The Ruins, it’s like a mature, refined version of the first record, it’s heavy where it has to be, and there are female parts (exclusively) where they have to be, so it’s not a forced fit.



3. This is also your first release since 2016, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?



Two summers were spent recording the album, we didn’t wrap up until 2019! Some members chose career paths, mortgages, so as fun as that life stuff is, it’s time-consuming. We started demoing for the album around 2017 and playing the odd gig here and there. We’re hometown heroes and faves but it’s nice to try and get out of that circle when possible, so a few out-of-town gigs, some fun acoustic ones too were played as well as some bigger ones around Toronto.



4. A lot of your lyrics cover Paganism themes, which forms of paganism do you connect with the most?



Slavonic/Eastern-European primarily, as that is where the majority of the band originates from and associates with. A lot of us have heard tales from childhood, have seen films with references, or even operas, so those forms, rituals, and superstitions tend to stick.

I’d love to explore (and admire those who do) Canadian-First Nation/Aboriginal forms but I do not think it would be genuine for us – we are still on THEIR land – the real Canadians.





5. What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored over the years with the music?



The best teacher is experience, so there are a few personal songs like Feed Your Demons, Troubled Lad and Valley Of Thorns, so of course life experience and reflection play a role. Otherwise, the fascination with folklore, history, and nature is still persistent in tracks like Mark Of Thunder, Oy Kanada, 1516, and Rusalka.





6. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Protokult'?





Inspired and fascinated by various metal genres alongside folk-culture, after a few years of experimenting, Protokult was meant to fuse the two together while paying homage to the past and honoring the underground. Essentially, it’s a tribute to all the loners, delinquents, misfits who never fit in and want to do their own thing, musically or anything else. It’s about standing up for what you believe in and hopefully bonding with like-minded individuals; a preliminary cult, so to speak.



7. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?





The front cover and back were painted by Ukrainian-Canadian artist, Marie Cherniy and depicts a siren-like figure in a pool of blood. She is holding a dove, which represents either the possibility for peace or peace coming to an end. The blood itself acts as a portal to Transcendence (through one's own blood or that of others) and the crumbling ruins behind her evoke a need to move on and leave the past (or current state) behind.



We didn’t want something typically “metal”, but somewhat dreamy, thought-provoking, artsy, and just metal enough.



8. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?



We’ve played a few Paganfests in our hometown over the years, often we’ll play with Arkona when they’re passing through. Great band. In 2018 we did a wild show with Alestorm and Gloryhammer at the Danforth Music Hall which was an unrelenting ritualistic assault, all night!



I guess that’s one way of describing our performance: Relentless, an intoxicating nightly assault.





9. Currently, the band is unsigned, are you open to working with another label again in the future?



We are always on the lookout and willing to review offers, as much as I support and admire smaller DIY labels, there has to be a plan and a sense of dedication, looking out for your artist/client. It’s almost like if you’re not with a major label these days, you’re probably better off being independent. And even then, a lot of “artists” would be willing to do their own thing,





10. On a worldwide level, how has the reaction been to your music by fans of folk metal?



   The fans who actually listen a little deeper to the records can attest that we’re more than some drinking-metal gimmick band (I.E people who listen to more than just a single or Get Me A Beer hah!), I don’t usually care for reviews but there have been some kind words of how we are a bit darker, more progressive than initially presented/perceived. It’s a total niche genre/market so I am grateful for all the fans and listeners willing to tune in and appreciate our art, South America, Europe, America, and of course all our dedicated Canucks! (Canadians)





11. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?



Our young guitar star, Jack has a few things he is a part of. Vias, Pterodactyl Problems, more rock-based but they are always keeping busy and active.

He and Kaveh (drums) actually have a great new thrash band as well- Korrosive. Very riff-based and proper.

Kaveh also has this epic-black metal thing he’s been doing for years, Into Oblivion

And Ekaterina has been focusing more on the folk-groups, which is her specialty.

Meden Glas is a group of scholars who focus usually on traditional songs from the Balkans and Blisk is a group of awesome ladies who do more of the Eastern-European tunes.



Myself, I try to honor Type O Negative with a few tribute gigs every year in a band called Xero Tolerance and I also play keyboards and compose in a symphonic-goth-doom local act, Mortalfall who have just released their first demo/EP. Highly recommended for fans of those genres.



All those groups are available online at the usual sources/links.





12. Where do you see the band heading musically during the future?



  Despite the odd experimentation or fascination, most of us are heavy metal fans/traditionalists at heart (Thrash metal, black, death) so that foundation and essence will always be there. With this new release, it’s definitely more in your face and at the forefront. We’ve already started to write a few new heavy tunes in that more blackened-thrash-speed direction (with melodic-folk finesse of course) so whether we’ll release them as singles, a split or even a possible EP we’ll see what happens over the next year or so with the industry and interests.





13. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?



Of course the pioneers of the folk-heathen genres, Arkona, Skyclad, Skyforger, Bathory, Pagan Reign, Drudkh, Nokturnal Mortum as well as the traditional forefathers I.E Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Emperor, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Sodom to name a few.



There’s tons of new music being released and unfortunately, we cannot keep up! There’s a theory that the best music you keep coming back to is from your nostalgic pre-teen to young adult years, so obviously we still party and listen to bands/albums we listened to 20+ years ago.



New(ish) music that some of us take a fancy to these days include bands like Legend, Solstafir (both unique Icelandic groups), Midnight, Mgla, Ruins of Beverast, Tarot, Black Magick SS and Blut Aus Nord.



14. What are some of your non-musical interests?



With age, it’s essential you stay fit, both mentally and physically in this modern crazy age. I hit the gym, regularly lift weights, go bike riding or hiking in our beautiful Canadian nature, play the odd tennis game, and hit the hills/mountains snowboarding in the winter months. Traveling the world and exploring history and culture is strived for at least once or twice a year.

  I’m constantly engaged in literature, often reading 2-3 books at once, all the while trying not to get bogged down in the fear tactics and politics of the day. Family time and spending time with loved ones is mandatory too.



15. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


Thank you for supporting underground metal music! We will get through this and don’t let the “powers that be” bring you down! Hails!

Protokult.com
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Skyless Aeons/Drain The Sun/2020 Full Length Review

  Skyless  Aeons  are  a  band  from  London,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  melodic,  technical,  progressive  and  dissonant  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  album  "Drain  The  Sun" which  will  be  released  in  October.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  dissonant  structures  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  growls.

  Black  metal  screams  are  also  a  very huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  at  times.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  technical  style.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  whispered  spoken  word  parts  also  being  utilized  briefly  as  well  as  some  melodies  also  being  added  in  some  of  the  riffing  and  the  music  also  has  its  atmospheric  moments,  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly  towards  the  end.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  space,  death  and  corruption  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Skyless  Aeons  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  technical,  progressive  and  dissonant  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Ascension  Towards  Nothing"  "Dimensional  Entrapment"  and  "Drain  The  Sun".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook.com/SkylessAeons      

Calarook/Surrender Or Die/2020 Full Length Review

  Calarook  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  pirate  theme  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  album  "Surrender  Or  Die".

  Bell  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  violins  a  few  seconds  later  while  epic  sounding  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Folk  music  elements  are  also  added  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  while  melodies  are  also  added  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Clean  pagan  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  ship  and  water  sounds  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording,  one  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  into  the  music  and  touches  of  black  metal  can  also  be  heard  at   times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  pirates  and  alcohol  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Calarook  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Cursed  Ship's  Tale"  "Surrender  Or  Die" "Davy  Jones  Locker"  and  "The  Undying  Sailor".  8  out  of  10.

 https://youtu.be/RZjnHD6QOqE

  

Empyreal Sorrow Interview

. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a Melodic Death Metal band from Germany, mainly situated in the area around Munich, Bavaria. The roots of Empyreal Sorrow go back to 2014 when our guitar player Martin Hofbauer recorded the first song ideas with bassist Sebastian Moser. But as both of them were involved in other projects at that time there was never a real plan to do more than just playing around with some cool riffs. After Martin’s band project came to an end and he still had a massive pile of really cool song ideas, the two of them sat together again in Sebastian’s own Grotesque Studios, just plain recording guitars and getting the arrangements in shape. At that time Sebastian was also doing lot’s of studio recordings with our drummer Julian, and as Julian is an incredible talented metal drummer it was just a natural thing to ask him doing the drums on the tracks that were already laid out at that point. So in the first half of 2019 we also had the first half of instrumental tracks ready. Joining as a second guitarist at that time was Markus Winter, who already played together with Julian in another band. As with Julian before it just clicked and for the rest of the year we concentrated on finishing and recording the instruments for all the rest of the songmaterial that we had prepared. With 2020 starting we also began with giving the songs a „face“ - as Sebastian was working out the vocal arrangements, we decided for another refreshing approach on our songs; we integrated more than just one vocalist to give everything more dynamics and to serve the diversity of the songs. That’s were our singer Martin Szeike came on board. While Sebastian is serving more of the Black Metal-like singing style, Martin is bombarding you with his utterly deep Death Metal grunts.

2. You have your first full length coming out in November, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

Martin’s vision when writing the first songs for Empyreal Sorrow was always straight Melodic Death Metal with a decent touch of this good old vibe from the 90’s. As we are all fans of bands like At The Gates, Edge Of Sanity, Paradise Lost, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity or Heaven Shall Burn it came out really natural when arranging and recording the songs. For fans of these bands our music should be a pleasing experience.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that the band has explored so far with the music?

It’s mainly devastation and destruction, the downfall of mankind. There is nothing that gives you so much inspiration as the look on today’s declining humanity. There is a constant frustration swelling inside of us because of how irrational and egoistic mankind is feeding on its own essence. It is not the most optimistic view or topic, but our music is our personal outlet for the anger and incomprehension we feel, when thinking about this planet and the swarm of human idiots flooding it.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Empyreal Sorrow'?

Most people believe in love as the strongest emotion and bond between one another. But we think that sorrow and pain unites us even more and can push you to grow beyond your own limits. We believe in this out of own personal experiences. Sorrow is more honest than treacherous love, stronger than fragile valor and more divine than hypocritical forgiveness. But with the acceptance of pain as one of the most important parts of life, you can really reflect on your own self and see through other people’s actions. Sorrow is our leader through life and our band is deeply inspired by this emotion.

5. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The artwork of our debut album „PRÆY“ is a perverted adaption of the Vitruvian Man drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci - the destruction of the ideal of the perfect human being. It is the logical visual interpretation of our lyrical topics on this record and of our view on today’s society acting like a human swarm, blindly following and consuming the feces  of the overpresent (social) media. The cover was created by Björn Lensig (www.lensig.com), a very talented and amazing artist who has also worked for artists like Amon Amarth and is doing lots of illustration for games. His style was perfectly fitting our artistic vision for this album.

6. Has the band had any opportunities to do any live shows?

As you know, the current Corona situation is not an easy task, especially for the entertainment industry. There are certain chances to do live shows, but we have to see if it is worth the risk at the moment. So right now we are mainly looking into how we can reach our potential fans on other ways, via Social Media in particular. But we are also planning our future stage setup at the moment. The most important part in playing live shows is to give the audience an entertaining experience. With that in mind we try to avoid the stereotypical stage presence of so many Metal bands - just standing around, moshing and boring the crowd. All of us have longtime stage experience as live musicians and we know that activating the crowd counts way more in the end than playing every note right.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

To be honest - we love the DIY attitude and we try to stick to it as long as possible. Sure, you need competent partners to be competitive on today’s music market. But our experiences especially with music labels in past cooperation's were not really satisfying and it showed us that if you are willing to keep pushing and work focused you can do so much yourself. We are not interested in giving other people control over what we want to do or express with Empyreal Sorrow. And maybe the most important part - as long as we as a band are working on all aspects of the band it bonds us closer together. Empyreal Sorrow is mainly about the enjoyment of making music WE love, the way WE want to and doing everything surrounding the band the way WE think it is fitting.

8. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic death and black metal?

As we are writing this, the promotional activities to get our debut album out to the music loving community and Metal fans is in full swing. First reactions so far are really promising and we hope to get more and more listeners into the Cult.

9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We’ll definitely never set to one certain rule of sets. Yes, we love Death Metal and we certainly will be part of this Metal genre in the future, but: While recording our debut album we already prepared a set of songs for a future EP release that alone has the goal to widen our own musical horizon. On this EP we will experiment with some new influences and let other musicians be part of our Cult Of Sorrow.

10. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Naming musical influences is always a hard task, as so many listeners often are interpreting this as a sort of „the music will sound like XY“. But musical influences are often very subtle and subliminal. As mentioned above - it’s bands like At The Gates, Paradise Lost, Dark Tranquillity, Edge Of Sanity that surely had a huge impact on the songwriting process and you will hear that in our music for sure. But as all of us are very open to all sorts of musical influences, we have no problem with incorporating samples, clean vocals, Black Metal-atmosphere or other details that seem to fit the song. When it comes to today’s new releases - it’s really hard as there is so much new music released each day. Certainly we all have our „most loved“ bands we always stick to, but the musical range is really widespread - from Heavy Rock like Gary Moore to Thrash Metal like Anthrax or Black Metal like Dark Funeral.

11. What are some of your non musical interests?

There is definitely one non-musical-interest within the band we all share and that is enjoying nature. We all come from countrysides where you are near to the woods or mountains and if there is something that really frees up your mind - it’s going into the mountains or just grabbing the bike and breathe fresh air.

12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

We invite you to join our Cult Of Sorrow and receive salvation through sound. Keep an eye on our online appearances to get the latest news regarding the release of our upcoming album „PRÆY“. And always stay Metal!

Website - https://www.empyrealsorrow.de/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/empyrealsorrowmetal/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/empyrealsorrow/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCotlWovcAgd-WXMn0es0J2w